Russell Wilson's Precision Throwing Pushing Seahawks to Super Bowl
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson will never be called typical. He’ll never fit neatly and snugly under the pocket passer label, or the mobile master of chaos label. To attempt either feels like an accusation.
He’s all of the above, with the legs to run for 849 yards during the regular season (the fifth-highest single-season total for a quarterback in league history) and the awareness to excel under pressure.
Increasingly, he’s adding a new label: precision passer. That was on full display during a divisional-round win over the Carolina Panthers.
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Wilson can’t be jammed into one drawer as a quarterback, and he can’t be specifically as a thrower either. The variety of ways he placed a ball into the perfect location Saturday, where only a friendly set of hands had access, showed both finesse and force.
He’s very much a quarterback chameleon, an adaptive ability that has the Seahawks chugging toward the Super Bowl and a successful title defense. It’s also led to postseason production that’s among the league’s best over a nearly 25-year period, via NumberFire’s Graham Barfield.
Wilson completed 68.2 percent of his passes against the Panthers at 12.2 yards per attempt. He also finished with 268 passing yards and three touchdowns, with the resulting passer rating of 149.2 being the fifth-highest postseason mark in NFL history, according to ESPN.com’s Terry Blount.
It was the highest postseason passer rating since Kurt Warner’s 154.1 in 2010. Just for fun, let’s sprinkle a little more perspective on Wilson’s overall 109.6 passer rating after six career playoff games.
| Russell Wilson | 6 | 109.6 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 11 | 105.3 |
| Bart Starr | 10 | 104.8 |
| Kurt Warner | 13 | 102.8 |
| Drew Brees | 11 | 100.7 |
You can choose to add a caveat there, noting that Wilson is the only quarterback in the top five who hasn’t yet logged double-digit playoff game experience.
Fair enough, though I’ll choose to observe that he’s still not exactly miles behind, say, Brees in that category, and Wilson is completing only his third season while the New Orleans Saints quarterback has logged 14 NFL years (13 as a full-time starter).
We can use whatever sample size you’d like and the point still remains: Early in his career, Wilson has consistently played at a high level when the games matter most.
Over those six playoff starts, he’s averaged nine yards per pass attempt, the best among active quarterbacks according to Pro Football Reference. He’s also accounted for 10 postseason touchdowns (nine passing and one rushing) with only one interception.
We know about Wilson’s ability as a runner and how he leans on a keen feel for the pocket to churn out chunk gains. He also uses that instinct to improvise and create plays on the run, always keeping his eyes directed downfield toward potential targets.
But as a thrower he’s become dynamic, especially during the playoffs, with the intensity knob cranked an extra few notches. We may have witnessed the next step in Wilson’s evolution Saturday night.
It was an evening of connecting when a connection was absolutely necessary, and doing so repeatedly. Wilson attempted eight throws on third down. He also completed eight throws on third down, and of his total passing yardage an incredible 74.3 percent came on those third-down throws (199 yards).
In those critical moments, we see a quarterback who achieves nearly perfect precision through well-timed touch and by using every ounce of arm strength he has available.
Of his three touchdown passes, two also came on third down. The second went to wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, who ran a crossing route from the slot and gained just a sliver of separation from Panthers cornerback Bene Benwikere.
Wilson still faced pressure even from a four-man rush. That made his throw even more remarkable, and it didn’t need any help in that regard.
With the pocket beginning to crumble, Wilson lofted a deep raindrop up the middle to Kearse. The ball then looped high in the air and traveled about 40 yards from where Wilson released in the backfield before it landed in Kearse's outstretched arm for a one-handed catch.
The window Wilson placed the ball into wasn’t a window at all. It more closely resembled the porthole of a well-worn seagoing vessel.
A defender is left to shrug his shoulders anytime he forces an opposing quarterback to place a ball into a confined space and the throw is executed perfectly.
That was a common feeling among Panthers defensive backs against Wilson.
Earlier in the first quarter, they tried to pressure Wilson in the red zone after Seattle had advanced to Carolina’s 16-yard line, sending seven pass-rushers. One was safety Roman Harper, which led to Wilson immediately diagnosing an opportunity on the left side.
Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin had single coverage with the other Panthers safety, rookie Tre Boston. Wilson had to make that pre-snap read and act fast. The oncoming rush would leave him only enough time for a quick dropback and an even quicker lob.
Knowing linebacker Thomas Davis was bearing down, he released early. So early that Baldwin was only at the 9-yard line.
The end result was another sailing ball that fit into a tight spot.
In contrast to those touch passes, Wilson displayed enough arm strength to weave a ball through enemy hands.
That’s a different kind of precision, but still the kind that relies on anticipation. It’s just required a little faster, especially when a ball has to zoom past Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly.
In the third quarter, the Seahawks had to convert on a 3rd-and-3 from their own 27-yard line. They led by only four points at the time and faced the possibility of handing over decent field position. Wilson spotted wide receiver Paul Richardson, who had escaped coverage and found a hole in front of Kuechly.
The problem, of course, is that holes around Kuechly tend to close fast. He finished the regular season with 12 passes defensed.
Richardson was running up the middle between a tight hole separating Kuechly and Benwikere, who was trailing in coverage. A completion meant leading the receiver far enough to make sure Benwikere didn’t have a play. But Kuechly had an interception opportunity if Wilson’s throw drifted even a touch too far to the right.
There was a narrow sweet spot to hit with a fast-moving football. Wilson uncorked his two-seamer and whistled a ball past Kuechly’s fingertips.
The Wilson we saw Saturday will need to reappear twice more, with his next assignment against a Green Bay Packers pass rush that finished the regular season tied for ninth with 41 sacks. Of that total, a combined 18 came from outside linebacker Clay Matthews and defensive end Julius Peppers.
But they will be of little concern if Wilson keeps shunning the typical and succeeds with equal doses of precision and chaos management.
If he does that while a defense that’s now held opponents to a minuscule eight points per game since Week 12 continues its stellar play, beating the Seahawks will be an insurmountable challenge for the second straight year.
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